He looked at Lady Solberg, meeting her eyes steadily for a moment before looking away.

“It must be very difficult.”

He could not even conceive of the pain she must feel to know that her husband was cursed, and that she was probably the only one who could free him from the ill enchantment. No one else would be invested to help the man, so the entire burden rested on her.

“If you find it, perhaps we can help. Let us know, Lady Solberg.”

Phaeral looked at the paladin again, very somberly. There was little else to say, and he was sure she didn’t want to dwell on it overly, or troll for the sympathy of strangers.

“As for our friend Ashleigh, she had an, uh, romantic entanglement with Raddick. I don’t think that it was in poor judgment to do that, but she had different expectations than Raddick did, and she was very disappointed as a result. She was hoping for marriage but he had no such intentions.”

Kaedyn chuckled, he deep bass voice a rumble as he commented, “The way I heard it, he jumped out a window to dodge the ol’ matrimonial noose. Heh, the man is brave and fearless in the face of life threatening monsters. But asked to commit to a beautiful red-head and he was running scared.”

“Though, I think Ashleigh misses his dog the most.”

He looked at the lady knight and was sheepish as she might have found his joviality a bit insensitive given her own marital troubles.

“My pardon, milady Coraline if I was too… cavalier in my humor.”

“I have to wonder if this bastard you are chasing might be involved with the blighters we are hunting. If so, you would do well to stick with us and find out as we come back this way. Though, if you need to follow up on other leads…” His voice trailed off.

Having a Paladin of Heironeous would certainly be helpful if fighting the evil outsiders and their minions that have been causing the troubles around Callenburg.

"Procan..." Coraline muses on the name of that deity for a moment. "I know little of him. Perhaps your priest friend can tell me more. I always find it interesting to hear of other faiths. It says so much about those that worship them."

A soft laugh comes from Kaedyn's explanation. Coraline does not seem offended as he apologizes. "You only answered what I asked to know. There is nothing to worry about. I do not understand why this man that you speak of fears marriage. It is a wonderful thing, to be connected forever with the person you love. But I am sure he has his reasons." She glances at Terra, and looks away after seeing the horse peacefully grazing.

"Thank you for your kind words," Coraline says to Phaeral and Kaedyn. "If you wish to be told, I will gladly do so if I find out anything else." She directs to Kaedyn, "At this moment, I have no leads. I simply search for whatever evil plagues the land and hope that monster will be the cause of it. There is a chance it might be involved here, and I hope that it might be. But even if not, I wish to help your group." She gives a slight bow of her head at this to punctuate the statement.

Returning Phaeral's smile, Coraline says, "Yes, go ahead and rest. I apologize for keeping you up with my desire to converse. Sleep well." She stands up to go to where Terra is, stroking the horse's neck and checking to see she is doing all right.

When done, she returns to where Nikhil is and takes a seat again. "It will not be long before she vanishes," Coraline states. "I can only keep Terra summoned for about ten hours. She will be on guard until leaving, but we will be on our own after she does." She does not seem troubled by the statement and is merely relaying information.

Later that night you found yourselves in the common room of the Adventurer's Guild. You were able to find available rooms for a decent price, better than staying at a regular inn. The tap room was surprisingly not very crowded that evening. Either business was great and all the available adventurer's were out doing what they do best, or business was bad and there was a lack of work and they were drinking elsewhere.

The few adventurous types mingling and conversing were none that you recognized and they were just swapping stories, drinking ale, or engaged in games of chance. You do not see the dwarf called Deves Markham that pretty much represents and runs the Guild.

Grog was still looking grumpy; the retired half-orc fighter was drying a mug with a cloth as he looked around the common room. He occasionally spat into the mug he was drying to clean off a pesky spot or two. He nodded a greeting when he saw you.

It is later that evening when Coraline arrives at the tavern. Terra has vanished by this point, returning to the plane she lives on when not accompanying her master. Most of the evening will be spent indoors, and there is no way the horse can stay with her while that is happening. While she misses having Terra during these times, she also knows her mount needs rest.

Until this point, she has been gone. Coraline had left to visit her home while everyone else was busy. She had said she would be back for dinner, however. She keeps true to this, despite being a little later than everyone else.

A nod is given to Grog in return before Coraline sits with her companions. She says to them, "I am happy to dine with you. However, I will be wanting to leave after that. I plan to spend the night at my home, as I wish to remain by my husband. That, and it is rare for me to get a chance to sleep in my own bed." Though she says this with a smile, her tone is more weary than anything.

Kaedyn had changed into his chain shirt, he knew better than to hang around in the Adventurer’s Guild without weapons or armor, and sat with Phaeral and Coraline as they waited for Nikhil and some of the others to join them. He had just finished eating and was letting the meal digest as he sipped from a dark red wine.

“It was well that you checked on your husband this afternoon, you know. Haggling with merchants and wizards was not as important. And we are in for more of the same on the morrow.”

“Yeah, please feel free to leave whenever you need to, Lady Solberg. Your time with your husband is more important.”

He took a sip of his ale and smiled, gently and encouragingly.

“How was he, when you checked on him this afternoon?” he asked, carefully.

It sounded like there was no hope for him to get better but one, but there were many things that could go wrong in the meantime. However, he thought it would be more of a disservice to pretend as if nothing was wrong and not mention the man at all.

Nikhil had stopped up at his room for a bit before dinner. He had wanted some time to mediated and check on a few things before joining the others down in the common room. But before he had known it, 30 minutes had stretched into an hour. With the dim of light through the window signifying a setting sun, the duskblade finished up and headed back downstairs to the sound of his growing stomach. He was dressed in a spare chainshirt just in case trouble brewed.

Spying some of the others already seated at a table, Nikhil stopped by and gave his order of a dinner at the bar as well as a mug of ale. With drink in hand, the dark haired human joined the others just as Phaeral began asking the paladin questions of her visit.

Pulling up a chair, Nikhil nodded in greeting as to not interrupt and said quietly to Kaedyn. "Lost track of time, sorry about that."

A shake of her head comes in response to Kaedyn. "I know little of such matters. My parents have a skill with it, but I never found much interest in bartering. It is not that I don't see a use for it, I simply don't care for it." Coraline pauses as a waitress comes by, and requests a glass of water when asked if she wants anything to drink.

Once she is gone, Coraline addresses Phaeral. "No better, no worse. Ever since he has fallen unconscious, I have never seen his condition change. He is pale, and if not for his breathing, I might think he was dead. His pulse is always so weak." She turns her gaze to the table for a moment, seeming to need a moment before continuing.

"Khalon Solberg," Coraline says as she lifts her head again. Catching sight of Nikhil, she nods toward him before continuing. "The 'Roydon' in my name is my maiden name. We both came from noble families, which I am glad for. Not because of any wealth we might have, but because neither of our parents had any reason to protest our marriage." A slight quirk in her mouth hints at a smile, though it is difficult to tell.

Ashleigh came into the Guild’s common room from upstairs, having left her newly purchased items in her room. It had been a tiring day and she was looking forward to some relaxing. Looking through manuscripts and scrolls might appear to be easy, but it was mentally exhausting after a several hours.

She ordered some food from Trixie and sat down at the table with the others. She was holding a goblet of wine to sip, but she was wary of getting drunk or even the least bit tipsy.

Joining the conversation late, Ashleigh said nothing as she glanced around to see if a certain ruggedly handsome bastard was present. Relieved that he was not, she smiled wanly, "Well, it was a busy day. But we are prepared for tomorrow, I think."

Kaedyn chuckled at Coraline professing to not be a merchant at heart, "Tis not like we do much in the way of bartering, heh. Mostly we take advantage of the Guild’s dues and agreements. They pretty much take most of the loot we bring back for a fair price."

He frowns with some concern over the situation of Khalon and he asked, "Is there some magic keeping him from dying if he cannot eat? How long did you say he was in this state?"

The battle cleric was a healer and he had gained some experience in their quest. But from he had learned so far, he was not sure if his divine gifts were up to the task yet of helping Coraline’s husband recover.